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SUVA, Fiji Islands (January 8, 2002 - FM96/PINA Nius Online)---Two more men associated with the foiled plot to kidnap Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama and other top government officials, are now in custody, the police have announced.

Director of Community Policing Romanu Tikotikoca said one of the men is a former soldier.

Tikotikoca also said police are aware that some former soldiers who may have weapons are involved.

Three men have already been charged and are in custody for alleged involvement in the kidnapping plot.

Meanwhile, the 2000 coup front man George Speight said he is not involved ion the matter.

He is disappointed with criminal elements for using him and other people in custody on Nukulau Island in their plans, his brother reported.

His brother said George -- who faces treason charges -- requested "our people not to associate themselves in anyway with anyone who comes with this...

MAJURO, Marshall Islands (December 21, 2001 – Marshall Islands Journal)---Kejjo Bien and a team of international lawyers are working to breathe life into the World War II claims of Mili Islanders against the Japanese government.

Attorneys working with Bien have pro posed an eight-point plan of action for Mili, including petitioning the United Nations, resuming "friendly negotiations" with Japan, and investigation of a settlement with the U.S. under the principle of breach of fiduciary duty for its handling of claims against the Japanese while the Marshall Islands was a Trust Territory.

The detailed history and analysis of the Mili war claims case prepared by attorneys working with Bien says that if these and other suggestions "are implemented by the Mili Atoll victims group and supported by the government of the RMI in the same determined fashion that has characterized Mili Atoll war claims and the RMI in the past, there may...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (January 7, 2002 - The National/PINA Nius Online)---Vanilla, a bean crop, is making a positive impact on some of the most rural and economically underdeveloped areas of Papua New Guinea’s East Sepik province. Money never seen in people's pockets is now flowing.

Unlike up until the recent past, when the poorly priced coffee, copra and cocoa crops limited their spending, they are now able to make choices on the goods and services they want.

Villagers are able to build permanent homes, pay school fees, and even buy new vehicles.

Vanilla is selling fast, especially with a price range of between K250-300 (about US$ 66-79) a kilogram.

Compare this with the top crop -- coffee -- which now sells at an average of about 80 toea (US$ 0.21) a kilogram.

East Sepik has become the largest vanilla growing province in Papua New Guinea, mostly concentrated in the Wosera and Dreikikir areas.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (January 6, 2002 - Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online)---Papua New Guinea’s petroleum industry started the New Year with a bang with the announcement of a new oil discovery in Southern Highlands Province.

Petroleum and Energy Minister Roy Yaki, welcoming the oil discovery known as Saunders, said it is about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) south of the existing Gobe field in the Southern Highlands.

Mr. Yaki said the well was drilled in the Petroleum Development License 4 area by operators Chevron Niugini. It is believed to contain 17 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves.

Mr. Yaki said that this is the second successive oil discovery recently.

"The Moran-6 well, completed in September, is believed to have added about 40 million barrels to the existing reserves in the Moran Field," he said.

He said Saunders is very close to the existing Gobe production and pipeline facilities, so it should be able to start producing at low...

JAYAPURA, Papua, Indonesia (January 3, 2002 - Pembaruan/TAPOL/ Kabar-Irian)---A senior human rights lawyer has said that the ability to solve the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay, chair of the Papuan Presidium Council, would be decisive for solving other human rights violations in Papua.

Bambang Widjojanto, former chair of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institution, told Pembaruan that the police and other security forces in Papua had not been able to solve a single gross human rights violation up to 2001.

Bambang was also formerly director of the Legal Aid Institute in Papua.

Human rights activists, the National Human Rights Commission as well as local NGOs have all expressed the view that an independent team should be formed, he said. "But the police have not seriously considered this idea and insist that they can solve the crime. The security forces refuse to accept that there was a political dimension to the crime," said Bambang...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (January 5, 2002 – Jakarta Post/Joyo Indonesian News/TAPOL)---Full implementation of special autonomy in the strife-torn provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya still has a long way to go as the government has yet to issue guidelines for autonomy laws granting special status to the two provinces, a Cabinet minister says.

Minister for Home Affairs Hari Sabarno told reporters in Jakarta on Friday that the central government has to issue implementation guidelines so that autonomy laws for Aceh and Irian Jaya can be implemented as soon as possible.

Hari said the government has to issue seven regulations for Irian Jaya and 24 for Aceh.

"Deliberations on those implementation guidelines are still going on, but it will take time because we have to hold interdepartmental discussions first, especially where regulations are related to political matters," Hari said.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (January 8, 2002 - National, Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online)---Four hundred West Papuans residing in Vanimo have been declared unqualified for refugee status by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Papua New Guinea Government announced.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Waiko, while denying claims that his department has done nothing to investigate the status of the West Papuans, told The National newspaper: "It was the UNHCR representative who advised the PNG Government that the 400 West Papuans did not qualify for refugee status.

"However, given the tense situation in Jayapura at that time, voluntary repatriation was not recommended."

He said Papua New Guinea's record in processing West Papuan border crossers speaks for itself since 10,000 of them came across the border in 1984.

Vanimo Catholic Diocese's General Secretary for Peace, Justice and Development, Michael Kalele, earlier said the Foreign...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.